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The Tanaki
Name: Tanaki (People of Tanak) Created By: Jay P. Hailey Borrowing heavily from William Gibson Ridley Scott Mike Pondsmith Short Summary: Saurian Cyberpunks Apppearance: The Tanaki are humanoids, they have the same general facial expressions and body kinsthetics as most humanoid races. They have descended from dinosaur like theropods. Something weird happened to the Proto Tanaki about 100,000 years ago, but Tanaki science had not figured it out, yet. Tanaki wear clothes for much the same reasons as humans do - protection, temperature control and status display. They have a nudity Taboo, but it's old and fading. Tanaki Males and females have very human like curves and body language. Tanaki have green skin and, in places, snake or aligator like scales. The Young are lighter colored, the older a Tanaki gets, the darker his skin and scales become. There is variation among the Tanaki starting point. Some Tanaki can be born a pretty dark green, but their fade to darker green is slower. Some Tanaki are born almost white, but their colors darken quickly after puberty. Tanaki in poor health lose luster and tone and become grayish green. Biology: The Tanaki bio-chemistry is roughly compatible with Earth. A Tanaki could eat Earth Food, a human could eat Tanaki food. There are no known cross-over diseases. Tanaki Bear live young and suckle them. Tanaki in the wild could live to 90 years old, but this was very rare. With native medicene a Tanaki could stretch his lifespan to 150 years or more. Population: On Tanak the population is clawing towards 10 billion people. Languages: The Main Language is called "Tanak". It was the Language of the first Nation to reach the Information Age technology on Tanak. Several other languages survive, in backwaters and obscure places. The Tanaki Cyber-Web holds information on how to translate most Tanaki languages. Government: Balkanized. Tanaki is a world much like Earth in the mid-to-late 21st century. There are about 100 nation-states on Tanakl. However, there were also about 100 "Multi-National Corporations" which weilding power that equalled or exceeded that of many governments. The nations and Mega-Corps of Tanak are busy playing monkey barrel. Economy: Tanak is suffering a huge and growing gap between the wealthy and the poor. Most of the Tanaki population is sliding back into poverty and deprivation in the shadows of neon skyscrapers. The rampaging industrialization and post-industrial exploitation of resources, not to mention vast over-population has thrown Tanak's ecology out of balance. An underlying theme to life on Tanak was that every know's the end wis coming, but no one can agree on what to do about it. This affects the psychology of the Tanaki badly. Military: The Militaries of Tanak are just as Balkanized and factionalized as the nations and mega-corps. Forces range from guys in pick up trucks with automatic rifles to highly trained, professional and well equipped mercenary commando forces. Large scale war has largely disapeared, due to the enormous cost. but nations, megacorps and native tribes would violently raid each other on an almost continious basis. This makes veteran Tanaki mercenaries dangerous indeed, they have lots of experience. History: The Tanaki are victims of their own success. the pre-idustrial history of the Tanaki people looks much like anyone elses. Their Industrial revolution swept their world hard. and then the post industrial information age happened Just as hard. The success at industrial production meant that Tanaki cultures and nations could support ever-growing populations. The Tanaki suffers a Demographic Bomb of population growth. Culture: The Average Tanaki lives a life of quiet deperation. Unemployment is high. Jobs that are available were leveraged for long hours and poor pay. Tanaki people are distracted by legalized drugs, and endless video spectacles of sex and violence. Attempts by intrepid truth tellers occasionally motivate protests and civil actions. But it is not enough. The weather is messed up and everyone knows Tanak is badly over crowded. Attempts to preserve endangered species and eco-systems are under-manned and under-funded. The rich and the well-connected hide in gated communities or arcologies. It is a life most Tanaki know they'll never see. The Tanaki have became experts at producing entertainment products to distract people from their lot in what seems like the twilight of Tanak itself. Advantages: Numbers. There are Astounding numbers of Tanaki on Tanak. this means that the edges of probability are pushed way out. If 1 in a billion Tanaki are smarter than Einstein or Surak then there are Ten such people on Tanak. The Tanak are generically as hardy and as smart as humanity, so they can be surprisingly robust, inventive and clever. Weaknesses: The world of Tanak is dying. Special: Tanak Medical technology is strange. Cybernetics are common. Rumors exist that there are replicants running around Tanaki society. But most Tanaki are too poor for anything but the basics of medical care. Campaign Role: Fringeworthy get to visit cyberpunk world. Frineworthy Tanaki Cyberpunks may start appearing on the Fringepaths. Meta Get Pondsmiths "Cyberpunk 2020", get a D20 book that describes a genericized verzion of Cyberpunk. I have Living Room Games book "Digital Burn". In D20 tanaki are rolled using the same stats as a human, including the 4 extra skill points and extra feat at first level. Tanaki may well have cybernetic enhancements, as described in various source books. The effects of the Rings to neutralize all electrical charges will be an ugly surprise for Tanaki Cyberpunks. But later parties will be prepared for this. Category:Node -3 Category:Alts Category:Races